The Baltimore Township post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Baltimore (1850), Pritchardville (1879) and Highbank (1894), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,947176 years
How historic is Baltimore Township?
B−
More historic than 47% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Baltimore Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Baltimore Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Baltimore Township is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Baltimore Township’s overall grade.
Few Michigan towns list much on the Register (a typical Michigan town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Baltimore Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (32% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.6 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Baltimore Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Baltimore
1850–1880
Pritchardville
1879–1903
Dowling
1880–today
Highbank
1894–1903
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Dowling
Gone or out of use
Highbank Post Officepost officePritchardville Post Officepost office
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Baltimore Township
DowlingStriker
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Baltimore Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Baltimore Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Baltimore Township is a civil township of Barry County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the township population was 1,947. Baltimore Township was established in 1849.
Its first post office opened in 1850. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,861 to 1,947 (+5%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Baltimore Township, 1850 to 1950
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Baltimore Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1950Nashville sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Baltimore Township.
Famous people
Famous people close to Baltimore Township
Nobody well known was born in Baltimore Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Baltimore Township post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Baltimore Township rank for history?
Baltimore Township is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Baltimore Township?
26% of Baltimore Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.6 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1973.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
